In one season I got 2 A. konjacs to go from a garlic clove sized tuber to a
large grapefruit, and they are both beginning to producing a bloom. Do I get
any award for this, or must I except the intriguing, otherworldly smelly
large flower as my sufficient reward ;-)
I'm pleased as these were my first Amorphophallus - being a neophyte and all.

I will photograph them if all goes well. I wonder if I place one of these in
my front yard if my neighbors will 'freak out'...yes, that sounds like an
interesting scenario.

----------
>
> Hello all,
>
> In one season I got 2 A. konjacs to go from a garlic clove sized tuber to
a
> large grapefruit, and they are both beginning to producing a bloom. Do I
get
> any award for this, or must I except the intriguing, otherworldly smelly
> large flower as my sufficient reward ;-)
> I'm pleased as these were my first Amorphophallus - being a neophyte and
all.
>
> I will photograph them if all goes well. I wonder if I place one of these
in
> my front yard if my neighbors will 'freak out'...yes, that sounds like an
> interesting scenario.
>
> Regards, to all who have assisted me in my first year, and ameliorated
my
> concerns.
>
> Luis Fontanills
> Miami, Florida USA
>
>

With all due respect and admiration for Mr. Fontanills, the gentleman lives in
Miami, for crying out loud! One can root cuttings in Miami by nailing them to
the side of the house that would take me chemicals, exotic media, expensive
metal halide lighting, humidifiers, RO filtration, and weeks of babysitting here
in Pennsylvania. I have to work hard to keep Gonatopus alive.
Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! (I'm crying out loud.) I've put off visiting southern
Florida for 30 years for fear that I would never be able to tear myself away and
return home.

From: Betsytrips at aol.com on 1999.05.22 at 21:00:22(3388)Perhaps Walter one can look about and glean the rewards and innovations of
others in other areas and then apply and alter to one's own benefit. I too
live in an area of the country where it is cold in the winter and hot in the
summer. I have found by being willing to look, listen and observe, one can
make adjustments that make it easier to grow that which we wish to grow. And
yes, it can be expensive and at times, difficult. The rewards can be great.
I have found that I can grow things that they in south Florida say they
cannot. I do believe that often the attitude is the determining factor. One
non success does not necessarily make a failure. Try and try again until one
comes to the conclusion, for now, this is not in the successful agenda. I
know Julius seemed amazed that I had grown dracontium from seed. I was
shocked that he could be surprised. I had no problem. Would I have tried if I
had known that it was 'impossible' to do? I did not know it was impossible
and low and behold, I have done it many times. You see, look at the glass
half full and you can learn that what you don't know at times can be to your
benefit. Believe. Do without expectations. Go with the intuition. Amazing
things happen!

With all due respect and admiration for Mr. Fontanills, the gentleman lives
in
Miami, for crying out loud! One can root cuttings in Miami by nailing them
to
the side of the house that would take me chemicals, exotic media, expensive
metal halide lighting, humidifiers, RO filtration, and weeks of babysitting
here

in Pennsylvania. I have to work hard to keep Gonatopus alive.
Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! (I'm crying out loud.) I've put off visiting
southern
Florida for 30 years for fear that I would never be able to tear myself away
and
return home.

Dear Walter,
I believe that the TRUE significance of Luis' 'feat' may have been lost on
some of us. A. konjac does NOT like the tropics, and Walter, had you
bloomed it in Pennsylvania, this would not have been notable, as it tends to
thrive growing in the Northern Summers, and commonly blooms there in spring,
whereas it is said to be HELL to grow, far less to bloom in the warm
Southern climes!!!
So weep your heart out up in the 'Artic' of Pennsylvania, Walter,
(KIDDING!), and we hope you will one day join us living in these balmy
climes of S. Florida!!!
Congrats, Lois!!!! The "KING STINKY' award is yours to share with Reggie
Whitehead for last month, and belongs to Donna`s at Selby for flowering A.
titanum this month!
Sincerely,
Julius
ju-bo@msn.com

With all due respect and admiration for Mr. Fontanills, the gentleman lives
in
Miami, for crying out loud! One can root cuttings in Miami by nailing them
to
the side of the house that would take me chemicals, exotic media, expensive
metal halide lighting, humidifiers, RO filtration, and weeks of babysitting
here
in Pennsylvania. I have to work hard to keep Gonatopus alive.
Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! (I'm crying out loud.) I've put off visiting
southern
Florida for 30 years for fear that I would never be able to tear myself away
and
return home.

Do you know that my research and a few of our experienced members on this
list told me that A. konjac would not thrive in South Florida? ;-) This is
due to a required cold dormant period (in winter) not a S. Florida attribute,
and our intense heat in the summer being above the species native conditions.
Well, I've tried several plants that were not heat tolerant and they never
did thrive, so I just did my best with A. konjac.

Here are the secrets of my success, though how much to attribute to any one
of them including the micro-climate of my little piece of South Florida is
unknown (one is a John Riordan clone, and the other a Japanese clone):

Potting medium: 70% professional potting mix + 30% 'Oil Dry' (high fired
ceramic particles found at auto supply stores). The professional potting mix
had a large percentage of decomposed bark and horticultural peat for moisture
retention. The 'Oil Dry' provided excellent aeration and weight to steady the
pots in our winds.

Pot: Terra-cotta (clay) pot. This to increase the aeration of the potting
medium. I used typical deep pots as found in a myriad of garden departments.

Water: I watered them everyday in the morning with city water. They were
kept moist at all times.

Fertilizing: I added slow release pellets ('Dynamite' six month time
released fertilizer) and would further use 'Miracid' (30-10-10) once a week
as a water soluble fertilizer, this to boost the nutrient levels and to keep
the pH on the slightly acid side. Our water is very alkaline.

Lighting: I placed them under dappled sunlight, under wispy open leafed
trees, in order to keep them cooler and to not scorch the leaves in our
intense sun. The color of the leaves was a yellowish green due to the high
light levels. Some leaf tips did scorch due to the sun, but I felt that
pushing it to the limit would accelerate tuber growth.

Dormancy: I removed the tubers promptly (and all the offsets) when the plant
naturally disengaged (rotted off). I placed them in a dark interior room (no
additional cold was provided), we had a very mild winter here in S. Florida,
milder than most years. This part worried me the most as it was not the ideal
conditions for tuber dormancy based on my investigations.

Replanting: Placed in the same conditions as above in the beginning of
March.